Sharknado to Get Theatrical Release, Sharknado 2 Already in the Works

Posted by on July 26th, 2013   Filed under: Horror, Industry News

sharknado

Back in 2006, the internet manufactured an illusory bubble of hype around a goofy little high-concept thriller called Snakes on a Plane. The movie ultimately ended up disappointing at the box office and was quickly forgotten by audiences, but it remains a cautionary tale about the fickle nature of the movie blogosphere. Recently, however, Syfy has been turning that cautionary tale on its head by producing successful original movies that rely on little more than ridiculous titles and d-list stars. The popularity of their high-concept genre flicks seems to have hit a fever pitch this month with the premiere of Sharknado starring Ian Ziering and Tara Reid. Although the movie’s ratings have not been amazing, the social media response has been so crazy that the movie is now getting a limited theatrical release, not to mention a sequel. What is this world coming to?

According to THR, Regal Cinemas will be hosting midnight screenings of Sharknado next Friday, Aug. 2nd. The event will be a special one-night only presentation in approximately 200 theatres. (Click here for the full list of participating theatres.) Regal’s Chris Sylvia had this to say about the announcement:

“You know how audiences have had fun with Rocky Horror Picture Show over the years. If the internet reactions to this film are any indication, then our moviegoers are primed and ready to enjoy Sharknado larger than life in cinemas… Regal is proud to be giving our guests this chance to fuel the social media whirlwind by inviting friends to come to the show and tweeting reactions.”

In addition, Syfy recently announced a sequel that will supposedly take place in New York as opposed to Los Angeles. The Asylum will once again produce the film although it’s unclear if any cast members will be returning. In the meantime, what do you make of the Sharknado phenomenon? Is it just a flash in the pan or will this become a true cult classic alongside such movies as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Room?



  • John Abides

    Just a brief question. Was Snakes on a Plane a disappointment, box office wise? What were the expectations? I saw it and enjoyed myself, but movie grosses were not on my mind in 2006. I checked Box Office Mojo and see it grossed 62M, which seems alright from a budget of 33M. Were people expecting SoaP to be a $200M movie?

  • Sean

    The movie was projected to have a $30 million opening at one point but only made about half that. Realistically speaking though, you’re right, it still did pretty well for what it was. The R-rating may have been what killed them since a lot of the people who were in on the joke were under 18.

  • piggystardust

    Will watching this movie automatically make me more funny?

  • PlanBFromOuterSpace

    The problem with “Snakes on a Plane” was that it wasn’t crazy ENOUGH. I remember hearing they were going back and adding more because they decided they were going to go for an R-rating, but what we ended up with were a couple of tits and some more swearing. There wasn’t much of anything that was THAT over-the-top crazy or noteworthy, and it ended up being just about as generic as any of the SyFy/Asylum produced genetically-altered (usually aquatic) animal of the week movies, but with more money and Sam Motherfucking Jackson. Ultimately though, I blame the film’s perfectly average grosses on Taylor Kitsch. Even early on, before we knew who he was, that guy was box office poison!

  • I would never pay to see that. Not even in a “so bad it’s good” way.

  • Omar Hauksson

    I think people were expecting around 100 mills seeing that this film was everywhere in pop culture.

  • T. Heilman

    What about Canada? Guess we’re on the “pay-no-mind list” again.